Your Scribe has cobbled together a Top 10 List for the past year, based on stories written and mini-adventures that were reported on this blog.

In no particular order:

- Photos appeared on the blog. For the past six months, I have been including photos of the cabin, its environs and trips taken in Maine. No flies on the writing, but I think the pictures really help.

- Putting in a well. Kevin the Well Digger put in a well this fall, which should provide water for the garden as well as satisfying the insurance company that I have some antidote to a house fire. I like Kevin's (CYA) professional mantra: "I don't guarantee a well, but I will dig a deep hole for you." Score! The is water about 12 feet down.

- Visits to Rangeley. I don't know why I like that area so much but I had several great trips there.

- The tree on the river bank still stands. There is a spruce that is about to fall into the river but it is still hanging on to the bank. I got a lot of good comments about what to do when it goes - to wit, the state won't pay a dime to remove it since the collapse is a natural event.

- Tangling with trappers. I got more comments from a column about trapping than any other topic. The blog did not laud the sport, and I heard from many trappers who said I was unknowledgeable and unsympathetic. Which is just about true, though I did learn that weasel pelts bring about $1.25 per.

- Moxie Falls. I had never been there, and the short hike and picturesque surroundings were great. Plus, I got a great action photo of my son, Drew, jumping into the fast-moving stream.

- Good neighbors. Nick the Coon Hunter cut up a tree that fell across the driveway, and Terry the Motivated Renter watches the cabin when we are absent.

- Bad deal. Terry the MR provided the disappointment of the year when he said he would buy an acre from me for $10,000 cash, then withdrew his offer so he could locate closer to utility lines. I should have known closing a cash deal wouldn't be so easy.

- No moose in sight. I tried on several occasions to see moose in Rangeley, Greenville and Bingham but was unsuccessful. On the topic of animals, a 525-pound bear was shot, weighed and registered at our local farm store.

- Clear-cut down the road. Gary the Ambitious Logger took down every tree on a five-acre parcel across the dirt road. He did leave a few trees so I don't have to look at the mess but it was a shock to see everything gone. On the upside: When the leaves are gone, I can now see the Blue Mountains from the porch.

As Your Scribe ponders how to make the cabin more comfortable, I've got to say that a new bed would help.

Here is the current "master" bed. It is a bunk bed but you can't use the top berth because the wood is too weak.

My father brought home this aging beauty from World War II, indicating he didn't spend much time doing Marine rolls on the battlefield to pick up medals or fancy daggers as keepsakes from his days in the service. Actually, he didn't serve near a war theater at all though he must have been fairly close to the quartermaster's warehouse.

Sleeping on this unit can be painful. The lower bunk here has two thin mattresses picked up at a sale of Martha Stewart chaise lounge covers. The springs, after more than six decades, sag under the weight of a mid-sized chigger.

This said, I am looking for a rollout bed. I notice that LL Bean has lounge-beds on sale for $489 but the roll-out is on the floor, not on wheels a couple feet above the floor. I already have a rollout chair from Bean that hugs the pine. I'd like the double bed to "tower" over the floor so guests don't have to slap at ants all night.

The other problem with buying at Bean is that delivery would be difficult. In the winter, the truck couldn't reach the cabin. In the summer, I am rarely there during the week. And I can't fit a full bed into my vehicle (a Honda CRV, what I refer to as "The Thinking Man's SUV.")

Another item I should get for the cabin is a generator. A small model costs about $1,500.

Both items are fairly pricey by my standards. We'll see which comes first.

Your Scribe received several gifts for the cabin over the holidays, as family members know this is one of my central interests.

I received a writing log with a photo of the cabin on the cover. This is to enable me to record random and/or illusory thoughts that might make their way into the blog. I am wondering whether I should make a scrapbook out of it as well.

Kevin the Well Digger was considerate enough to take photos of his excavation work when he was putting in the well last fall. Also, I saved photos of when Burt the Builder was constructing the cabin about five years ago, and I think those would be appropriate. Many other photos have been taken, so there should be plenty of material.

I also received salt and pepper shakers in the form of hens and roosters. Though there are no animals at the cabin, I believe these kitchen trinkets were for me. And I got stationery with artwork of a cabin on the writing paper.

I gave myself a book on fishing in Maine, which has many old-time photos of anglers at Rangeley, Moosehead, the Belgrade Lakes and other spots. It's remarkable that those guys fished wearing ties and jackets. The Sandy River in New Sharon, where I have drowned many a worm, got three paragraphs. But the text did say it was well-stocked each spring, and many trout reach maturity.

The photos reflect that fishermen then caught a lot of fish! Strings of 15 to 20 trout and bass are depicted. Either there were no catch limits or the guys were really capable. Maybe both.

I haven't been to the cabin recently, as I am in Catch-22 mode regarding access to my driveway. The town doesn't plow the (public) dirt road to the end where I am, because "no one goes there in winter."

I don't go there because it is not plowed! I can't get there from here.

This nettling impasse beset me last year and wasn't resolved over the summer. Several lingerers at the farm store say I shouldn't encourage better driving conditions, or else a developer might buy the land below me and start building houses.

Actually, the cabin is a tough place when it is really cold because the floors and ceiling aren't insulated. The heat generated by the Jotul is not contained. Once I winterize the place, I will make a serious request to the Road Department.

Shortly after Your Scribe hiked up from the parking lot at LL Bean ( the greatest distance for me ever but it is the holiday season), I found the book section.

My purchase: "Maine's Most Scenic Roads" by John Gibson (Down East Books, Camden, 1998). Yeah, I know, 1998. But Maine's roads don't change that much even in a decade, unless you are talking about prospective alterations in Greenville. (Bad joke).

Anyway, the photo above was taken on a road that is one of the book's "top 25," from Bingham to Jackman. I agree, this (Route 201) is a dandy thoroughfare.

Here are some of the other "most scenic drives." Or at least, ones that I have traveled:

Wilton to Weld and Mount Blue State Park. I went last summer. No traffic, great views of the Blue Mountains.

Augusta-Belgrade Lakes-Augusta. This is my regular "commuter route," and highlights the lakes near the venerable Belgrade Inn.

Augusta to Wiscasset. I applied for a job at the nuclear plant in Wiscasset years ago. I'm glad I didn't get it.

Gardiner to Bath. I forget this one but you might know it.

Woolwich to Georgetown and Reid State Park. I remember two things about this area: how cold the ocean was, and a nice day at the summer home of former owner of the Press Herald-Maine Sunday Telegram, Jean Gannett Hawley.

Augusta to Camden. This might be overrated, save for the last five miles.

Thomaston-Port Clyde-Owls Head-Rockland. I think anything to do with Rockland is fabulous, since my heart remains at the Old Samoset Hotel (which burned decades ago). I am trying to warm to the "new" Samoset.

Castine to Deer Isle. Any trip that involves Deer Isle is a winner.

Bar Harbor to Southwest Harbor. This is really gorgeous country, which 90 percent of tourists probably never see. Too far from the big highways.

Schoodic Point. One of the prettiest spots in Maine, though there isn't much parking and you've got to travel to get there.

East Machias-Cutler-Lubec-West Quoddy Head. This route is underwhelming but pleasant. I traveled it on the way to Campobello, the old summer place of Franklin Roosevelt et al. Now this is a place that you should really try to visit! Managers (cooperatively run by U.S. and Canadian commissions) have kept it just like it was in the '20s. Even the (wooden) tennis rackets are authentic and the newspapers on the breakfast table are originals from that charming era. (Charming if you had money, that is).

Your Scribe isn't much of a cook, but I do try.

Here are some biscuits that I recently made in an old-fashioned, stove-top oven. It sits atop the wood stove, which gets plenty hot if given enough time.

The (pre-made) biscuits rose nicely, and were tasty. I learned the next day that you can't take biscuits off the stove, then put them on 15 minutes later. They deflate and do not rise again.

Next spring I hope to do more cooking. That means having more light in the cabin, and that raises the question of getting a generator. Thus far I have avoided the generator purchase.

But if you can build a well, you can bring in a generator for light and perhaps heat. I will be pricing generators this winter.

With so many trees surrounding the cabin, solar power does not seem feasible.

Where in Maine was this rustic photo taken?

L.L. Bean, of course. The outdoors outfitter is becoming more sportsman friendly, and this "lounge" was built into the new hunting and fishing store at the Freeport complex.

Bean is planning a major expansion soon on a 700-acre parcel in Freeport. Though details haven't been revealed, managers are planning a destination campus that could include venues to teach kayaking, fly-fishing and perhaps more.

It's a great idea. People love the Bean brand, and visitors would lilkely spend more time there if there were enough activities.

This "hold 'em" strategy is similar to that being developed by the Red Sox and Patriots. They know they have fan loyalty, and they are doing what they can to maximize commerical activity once the fans arrive.

The Red Sox have interests in several restaurants and souvenir stories near Fenway Park. They are trying to buy up nearby real estate to develop hotels that could carry the Sox theme. Who wouldn't want to take their kids to a Sox hotel? Those at Disney World have made a killing on such a connection.

The Patriots, with more unencumbered acreage, are now bringing in a Bass Pro Shop and a major hardware outlet - in addition to selling gear at the stadium.

Fans are wealthier than a generation ago - you have to be to buy a ticket. Once they arrive at the park they have money to spend. L.L. Bean appears to be seeking to tap into such a revenue stream. (Last year sales were up 4.6 percent to a record $1.5 billion. But what upwardly mobile exec ever said, "I think that's enough"?)

Cabela's is readying a $75 million outdoorsmen's complex in Scarborough. That could be another reason for Bean to be investigating this concept.

The view of Your Scribe: Bean does things well, as the new hunting and fishing store shows. If they want to develop a hands-on complex near the flagship store, I can offer only encouragement.

What do you think?

One of Your Scribe's in-laws is a salesman of log cabins, and he says this is a bad time for sellers. Which suggests it's a good time for buyers.

Indeed, it does appear from the classifieds that prices are coming down as a result of the poor housing market. (An aside: I check the Maine Sportsman frequently to see what's available. The properties in Down East magazine are more glorious and for that reason much more expensive. But I love Down East because I see coves, inlets and islands that I didn't know existed.)

Here are some listings in central Maine that look interesting. Whether they are "affordable" would depend on the buyer.

Athens. Camp on 23 acres, Lemon Brook "just feet away." Cabin has inviting front porch. $55,900. 695-3731.

Brownville (Milo area). Cottage on 2.87 acres, with footage on East Branch River. $75,000. 943-5225.

Emben. Four room camp with 900-foot frontage on two streams. Furnished. Outbuldings. "Great hunting." $79,000.

Guilford: 95 acres of land and an old '50s hunting camp (very small). Reportedly is situated near several trout streams. $125,000. 683-2963.

Temple: 2 acres on Drury Poond, with 500 feet on the water. It includes a three-season cabin, with kitchen, three bedrooms and a wood-burning stove. Near Farmington. $175,000. 778-4374.